บท 4: Pressure Falling [3]
"Who's that girl?"
Shibuya asks me while walking in a brisk step before me, where is he taking me I wonder.
"I don't know. Today was the first time I spoke with her. She seems suspicious to me for some reason."
"Yeah. Is she really a medium?"
He asked with a thoughtful expression.
"Well, she said it herself, didn't she? By the way, is the person from this morning alright?"
"About that."
Shibuya turns to face me with his cold, indifferent expression.
"He sprained his left ankle. It is apparently in very bad condition, so he won't be able to stand for a while."
"...Oh... I'm really sorry..."
I say this, but still I wonder if I really should be apologizing to him.
"Well... Is he an acquaintance of yours?"
"Wasn't it obvious?"
Shibuya glances at me with ridicule in his eyes.
"What kind of acquaintance?"
I ask.
He was giving me a strange feeling. That guy from the morning was over the hill no matter how you look at him. That same person was talking to his partner, the sixteen year old Shibuya, in a polite manner, while on the opposite side Shibuya was always talking in an excessively rude way. Isn't this a reversal?
Shibuya replies with his peaceful voice in a casual manner.
"Assistant."
Oh. What an arrogant assistant this is. Would you normally talk to your master in such a rude tone?
"Your boss seems to have a rather strict personality."
I say this with a grain of sarcasm. I don't know if it was a sprained ankle or a broken bone, but I had already relieved myself from that responsibility by lending him a hand.
"But it wasn't only me who was responsible for your master's injury. He was the one who surprised me--"
"It's the opposite."
The opposite? What is? I didn't surprise him for sure.
Shibuya speaks curtly—
"I am the boss. He is the assistant."
Eh!?
EEEEHH?!
...What the heck? This is a serious matter.
A sixteen year-old using an adult for his assistant? What in the world is this guy? I stare at Shibuya with an 'are you serious' expression. He looks at me with all his pale glory.
"My assistant being unable to move is troubling. Don't you think you have a responsibility to take on, Taniyama-san?"
"Hey, don't joke around! Just to make things clear, I'm a victim too. Not only was I startled to death, but I was late for school."
All the world's cold is gathered inside his eyes.
"He was hurt. And how are you?"
"...That is... I'm pretty lively."
"Moreover, the camera was broken."
Ah, that video camera. Now that I think about it, it fell really badly. And it's a fragile precision instrument...
"Lin... I mean, my assistant, tried to prevent you from touching it, which lead to our current situation."
"That is...really..."
A really bad situation. That was inevitable. It wasn't my fault. Even if I say so, it doesn't feel like he'll understand.
"I would have liked for you to pay compensation for the camera, but..."
Compensation!? Are you joking!
"It isn't like I broke it intentionally!"
"Didn't they teach you not to touch other people's stuff without permission?"
...But... I felt like…
"Why in the world is there a video camera in such a place?..."
"And, how much is the compensation...?"
What Shibuya estimated was an unbelievable sum of money. Such a great cost that only exists in dreams.
"Cut it out with the jokes! Why is that video camera so expensive?! This can't possibly be true!"
"That video camera was custom-made, produced in Germany. Would you like to see the certificate?"
Foreign order. Custom-made, at that. My eyes went black. What am I going to do?
Shibuya said:
"If you don't like this..."
...What? I can apologize for not being able to pay!
"Would you mind taking the place of my assistant?"
"By this... You mean I'll be working as your assistant?"
"Exactly."
"I'll do it."
I'll do it, be it an assistant's job or a maid's job. Shibuya nods his head in agreement.
At the same time I asked him a sudden question.
"By the way, what kind of work are you doing, Shibuya-san?"
Second-year, high school student. 17 year-old student, has an assistant, using an incredibly expensive camera. What the hell is he doing?
"Ghost Hunter."
"Haa!?"
"Or in other words, ghost extermination. We've come here to investigate the old school building by the request of the principle. We are called 'Shibuya Psychic Research'."
"Pusai..kkiku... risaachi?"
"Haven't you taken any English lessons?"
I have. Well, excuse me. For being bad at English.
"A psychic phenomenon investigation service. And I am the head of it."
Wha...Whaat. Head, this fellow, with the social standing of a sixteen year-old!
Not only that, but what...? Investigation of the old school building? Psychic phenomenon investigation service!? This is a joke, right!?
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